We spent just under 6 weeks living in Belgrade and we managed to get a taste for Serbian food. By no means did we manage to try everything – we barely scratched the surface really – but we did get a great introduction to the cuisine.
Consisting of a delicious mix of regional influences, you will find familiar dishes with distinct Serbian characteristics. A little Greek here, a little Balkan there with some Ottoman on the side – Serbian cuisine offers a hearty and wide variety of dishes to indulge in, all on a very affordable budget. While we already covered our sweets and desserts, here are some of the places we tried while in Belgrade. Not all of them are Serbian — local food is heavily meat-centered so Briana could not try those dishes and we did get some generaly non-Serbian food as well (sometimes you want something certain when you are on the road indefinitely).
Pravi Leskovacki Rostilj
We came across this place on our second day as we were exploring. We were hungry with no idea where to go, and this place caught our eye.
What we ate/what they offer:
Plejaskavica – this was the first dish I came across, and I made sure to get it as many times as I could for the rest of our stay. Briana was already familiar with it from researching Serbian food, but wasn’t interested in one for herself, of course. I saw what appeared to be a simple hamburger from afar, and considering I hadn’t had one in a long time, I opted to go ahead and grab it.
However, this decidedly Serbian dish was not a hamburger, though admittedly it is one in spirit. The pljeskavica is a patty of mixed meat – usually beef, pork, and a bit of lamb – and spices, grilled to perfection. It is then topped with lettuce, a “salad” such as sauerkraut, cucumber, and the local sauce ajvar, stuffed inside a bread reminiscent of a pita.
The result is superb – and filling. I was very hungry but decided to opt for a smaller size to keep on budget. It was a good call because it was huge and I could barely finish it.
Cost:
The dish was incredibly cheap, no matter where it was. Generally, it came out to around 120-220 RSD (~$1.25-$2.25).
Where to find it:
Address: Nemanjina 32, Beograd, Serbia (Note that you can find pljeskavica in many locations).
Top Grill
I visited this little roadside stand a lot because it was relatively close to our place. During our month plus in Belgrade, I ate here probably two to three times a week. At first, they seemed to be a little dismissive of me, but they became friendlier and more helpful once it became apparent I wasn’t a typical one-time tourist visitor. I tried many variants of sandwiches. Everything was great.
What we ate/what they offer:
Ćevapcici – grilled mince-meat sausages. Very similar to Greek cevapi, these sausages are usually made of beef, pork, and lamb. I found these to be a bit spicier than them, though also more savory than the pljeskavica.
Similarly, these small sausages – similar in essence to meatballs – are stuffed 5 or 6 at a time inside a pocket bread filled with various relishes and ajvar (a paprika-based condiment) and eaten in a sandwich. All in all, delicious.
Sausage – I don’t know exactly what type of sausage it was, but it was good. Very similar to a Polish sausage, it was moderately spiced and was very well-received.
Chicken – the chicken was made spicy with ajvar and sesame seed. It was basically a spicy chicken sandwich, but everything was very fresh.
They also offer their own pljeskavica but we covered more on what that is above.
Cost:
These sandwiches were pretty cheap as well, everything varied within a close range. Their costs were 220, 260, and 250 RSD respectively (similar to the cost of the pljeskavica).
Where to find it:
Address: Dalmatinska 49, Beograd, Serbia
Manufaktura
Briana found this place online and was especially attracted to the outdoor seating with umbrellas overhead. We made this part of our date night when we went to the ballet.
We never did make it inside, the outdoor ambiance was very nice. It was certainly the most upscale place we visited while in Belgrade and it did feel nice to be at a proper sit-down restaurant.
What we ate/what they offer:
We were brought out what we thought was complimentary bread – it was not – which was pretty good. The prices were higher than elsewhere we’d been in Serbia so we tried to be more careful with our selections.
I got a chicken kebab. It was very good, spiced well with paprika and not dry. But, it didn’t come with much else, so I was a little hungry still after finishing.
Briana ordered potatoes and eggplant. Neither was what she was expecting though. The potatoes were good, but she didn’t like the flavoring, so Kyle ended up finishing them up. The eggplant was good but was fried like chips. This meant that it wasn’t as filling as she had hoped.
While the food was good, we were a little disappointed overall when we compared the overall value of the food in comparison to elsewhere we went.
Cost:
This was our most expensive meal in Belgrade and did feel expensive to us at the time. But now it seems pretty good for a nice sit-down meal. Our meal combined totaled $12.21 with a $2 tip.
Where to find it:
Address: Kralja Petra 13, Beograd 11000, Serbia
Bucko Pizza
It had been a long while since we’d had pizza, so we made a point to come here. Bucko is a pretty big thing in Belgrade. The location we visited was small but felt very warm and welcoming. It was essentially a very small bar that had a few stools at tables.
What we ate/what they offer:
Bucko specializes in pizza that is topped with various specialty cold mayo salad toppings. We had intended to get this, but we didn’t know exactly what was in salad toppings, and some were meat. So in the end, we went the boring route and got plain pizzas. It was still good though!
Cost:
For our pizza, it came out 480 RND (~$4.20).
Where to find it:
Address: Beogradska 56, Beograd 11000, Serbia
Big Pizza
Once again, we were feeling pizza – it had been a while. Big Pizza was a place we had walked by at one point, so we decided to visit it on a rainy day.
What we ate/what they offer:
Big Pizza is your standard chain pizza joint. Nothing special, but they still do it well. We just got a standard cheese pizza.
Cost:
520 RND (~$4.68 at the time, around $5.14 now)
Where to find it:
Address: Kralja Milana 25, Beograd 11000, Serbia
Burrito Madre
Briana found this place online when we were craving for some Mexican food. Burrito Madre is similar to a Moe’s or Chipotle back in the states, but with a character all its own. For some reason, Mexican food is probably one of the cuisines we missed most while traveling. Burrito Madre was exactly what we were looking for.
What we ate/what they offer:
They specialize in burritos, so it’s all up to you so long it goes into a tortilla. A tortilla press flattens fresh dough for you and bakes it as you order so you know you’re getting a fresh one. This is also a great vegetarian option for those looking to take a break from Serbia’s meat-centric cuisine.
We had a steak burrito, a vegetarian burrito, and some tortilla chips. The food was really good, and we came back again a short time after our first. They even serve churros now! Although it isn’t traditional Serbian food at all, it’s still a good stop. Briana especially liked the chips.
Cost:
As with much of the food we got in Belgrade, it was affordable. Both burritos and the chips came out to 690 RSD, which converted to $6.17 at the time but would now be around $7 total.
Where to find it:
Address: They have 3 locations but we went to this one – Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 54, Beograd, Serbia
Coffee Cake Bakery
Another one of our early stops. We came across this open-air cafe after some exploring. It seemed promising and offered a good place for us to rest our feet while we ate. The neighborhood seemed lively and charming and was a great place to eat. The staff didn’t speak much English -few in Belgrade did – but they worked with us to get what we wanted.
What we ate/what they offer:
I got a chicken wrap. It was well-balanced and very satisfying. It was the first wrap that I’d had in a very long time. Briana got a cheese panini.
Cost:
The total for both was 620 RSD ($5.66 at the time, current conversions bring it to $6.29)
Where to find it:
Address: Kursulina 41, Beograd 11000, Serbia
Hummus Bar
Hummus bar specializes in falafel. Briana wanted some hearty vegetarian food and this was just the place.
What we ate/what they offer:
Briana had a falafel, plain and simple.
Cost:
The Falafel was a cool 200 RSD which at the time of purchase was $1.83 USD but is now currently around $2.00 USD.
Where to find it:
Address: Beogradska 66, Beograd 11000, Serbia
Groceries & Home Cooking
We were in Belgrade over a month and also working from our apartment and so we didn’t go out and eat all the time. We wanted to try some of the local food but you can do that by grocery shopping locally too! It’s nice to do a mix of both but in this location, we mostly cooked. For the most part, we just went to a single grocery store as well. We covered the desserts we ate at our Airbnb in our desserts post, but here are some of the foods we ate with local ingredients. Overall our food costs were pretty low in Serbia which was great. We attribute this to
- Serbia being a pretty cheap place
- Staying there for a significant period of time
- Incorporating some of the same ingredients into a variety of meals
Toast and Coffee
Definitely missing this right now! While there we’d start our days with coffee and some fresh bread from the grocery store bakery and butter, toasted. It was delicious.
Oatmeal with Raspberries
We mentioned this in the desserts post, but we could get raspberries (especially frozen) for a pretty good price here and Briana enjoyed them regularly on oatmeal as a meal or snack any time of the day.
Gnocchi & Tortellini
They had packages at the store for reasonable prices making for quick/easy and enjoyable meals. We would also often have salad as a side or sometimes main dish.
Cheese (Beli Sur, for ex.)
Serbian cheese is cheap and tasty. At the time we would use it as a topping for pasta, salad, mashed cauliflower, etc. It was one of our favorite finds because it was like a creamier version of feta cheese.
Paprikas
Much like in Hungary, Serbians love paprika. You can find it incorporated into many dishes in some way. The peppers are used as a ground spice, or as whole roast peppers.
While we visited, we noticed people fire-roasting the paprika peppers along roadsides and cafes. The pungent, yet enticing smell of smokey peppers is certain to draw you in. Paprika comes in a wide variety of heat levels, but due to its preparation almost always imparts a smoky flavor to dishes.
Tofu
We’re guessing this isn’t a common food in Serbia, judging based on our difficulty finding it. Despite all the “Go Vegan” graffiti, I don’t think much of the population is vegan or vegetarian or into tofu. We did find it at a couple health food stores, though. This item was a bit more expensive than other locations we’d been but we still wanted to incorporate it into meals sometimes.
Not so Serbian: Rice, Beans, Burritos, Etc.
We would eat pretty regular meals as well such as noodles or rice and vegetables, rice and beans, burritos, etc. Overall there wasn’t so much there that we wanted but couldn’t find, except maybe some produce which wasn’t in season.
Serbian Food – What We Ate in Belgrade – Pin It!